George valiant



(No Model.)

G. VALIANT.

.8 BOOT OR SHOE. No. 385,218. Patented 'June 26, 1888..

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N, PfiTERS. Fhntvlilhographer. washinglnn. D. C.

- 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE VALIANT, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

BOOT OR SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 385,218, dated June 26, 1888.

Application filed May 28, 1887. Serial No. 239,668. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE VALIANT, of Toronto, in the county of York, and in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boots or Shoes; and I do hereby declare that the,

following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of a portion of a shoe provided with myiniproved lace-hole strip; Fig. 2, a detail perspective view showing the inner or under side of the strip as applied to the shoe; Fig. 3, a transverse sectional view on line a; a: of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 a detail enlarged view of the strip before attachment to the shoe.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved lace-hole strip for boots or shoes; and to this end my invention consists in the lace-hole strip and the construction, arrange ment, and combination of the parts thereof, as hereinafter specified.

With the lace-hole strip as heretofore made and now on the market,it has been customary to provide each strip with aseries of laceholes extending part way up its length and with a series of lacing-hooks extending from the end of the series of lace-holes upward. Such hooks, besides havin gto be each specially and securely fastened in place, are objectionable as presenting a series of projections for the bottom of the trousers to catch on. Such projecting hooks are not only liable to catch the bottom of the trousers andprevent them from lying smoothly over the front of the shoe, as is desirable, but they are apt to cause wearing out and fraying of such bottom.

The special object of my invention is to do away withthese lace or lacing l1ooks,with their objectionable features, as stated above, and to provide other means for receiving and holding the laces, which shall be neat and comfortable, shall not present any projections for catching and fraying or wearing the trousers-bottom, and shall allow of the ready and quick removal or putting on and fastening of the shoe without disengaging and engaging the laces with the lace-receiving devices, as is the practice where lace-hooks are used.

In the drawings, A A designate the vamp or quarter of a boot or shoe,and B the upper,

to which the vamp or quarter is attached in p the usual or any desired way.

G'O designate the two opposite and corre' sponding lace-hole strips, which are fastened to the vamp or quarter edges by two flaps, c 0, along the attaching-edge of each strip in the same manner as the lace hole strip set forth in my pending application for United States Patent, Serial No. 234,405. Like the button-hole andlace-holestrips described andshownin that application, each of my improved lace-hole strips covered in the present application is made of a single strip of strong leather cut to the proper curve.

.As described and shown in my said application, each of these strips 0 O is split along its inner or attaching edge, so as to form the two attaching-flaps along such edge, and the inner or under one of these flaps is made wider than the other. The outer flap in the present case is shown as scalloped,to make a neat and ornamental appearance when attached to the quartei edge, which it overlaps.

The lace-hole strip having been put in place on the quarter-edge, with the scalloped outer flap, 0, overlapping and the wider under or inner flap, 0, extending under such edge, it is fastened in place by the line of stitching D, passing through the two flaps and the quarter-edge, and preferably following the sealloped edge of the outer flap, c, as shown in the drawings.

The edge of the shoelining E, where such is used, is covered by the under flap, 0, which extends under it, and is fastened to such flap by means of stitching E.

Each strip is provided with the series of lace-holes c c", stamped through the leather, with embossing around them to imitate stitching, and present a neat and ornamental appearancc.

Instead of the usual series of lace-hooks ex;

tending up from the end of the series of laceholes, my improved strip has a series of flat leather loops, F F. Such loops are formed of projecting pieces or tongues of leather F, left along the outer edge of the strip, as shown in Fig. 4, when the strip-blank is first cut out. These tongues are bent back upon the strip and fastened by stitching G, thus making a series of flat loops along the edge of the strip.

I prefer to turn the tongues F F under the strip when forming the loops, but do not limit myself to such construction, as the loops can obviously be made also by bending said tongues up over the strip and fastening their ends to the outer or front side thereof. lVith the tongues turned under, as first described, the loops are on the under side of the strip and out of the way, so as to leave a smooth plane face along the outer side of the strip.

I prefer to make the loops on the strip before the latter is attached to the quarter-edge; and in order to avoid the appearance on the front of the strip of the stitches which fasten the ends of the loop pieces or tongues, I make such stitches only pass through the inner or under flap, 0, as shown in Fig. 3, instead of through the entire thickness of the strip.

lVith my lace-hole strips made and attached as described, the laces are for the last four or five lacings drawn through the loops F F, as

shown in the drawings, Fig. 1, being alternately crossed over between the two strips.

When the boot or shoe is to be removed, it is not necessary to withdraw the laces from the loops. Upon simply untying them and pulling the quarters apart the lacing slips easily through the loops.

"When the boot or shoe is on and is to be tightened, it is only necessary to draw upon the ends of the laces in order to pull the strips 0 C and the quarters together.

If desired, an additional lacehole can be provided at the upper end of each lace-hole strip, as shown in the drawings, and the ends of the lacing can be passed through such holes.

With my lace-hole strips, as shown and described, I secure a neat, simple, cheap, and efficient fastening for boots or shoes, which allows easy and ready loosening and removing or putting on and tightening of the shoe, as desired.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim is- 1. A lace-hole strip of leather having a series of independent tongues bent back on the strip and separately fastened to the body of the strip,-so as to form loops for the-lacing, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A lace-hole strip having the series of lace-holes along its lower portion and the series of loops along its upper portion, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

3. In combination with the quarter of a boot or shoe, the two-strips on the quarter-edges, each provided with the series of lacing-holes on their lower portions and with the series of loops for the lacing along their upper portions,

substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4:. In combination with the quarter ofa boot or shoe, the strips fastened on the quarteredges,each provided with a series of lace-holes, a series of loops made of tongues of the strip folded back and fastened to the strip at their ends and with a lace-hole above the series of loops, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

5. In combination with thequarter ofa boot or shoe, the lacing-strips fastened on the quarter-edges, provided with series of lacing-loops made of tongues on the strips folded back and fastened, such loops being situated, substantially as described, that those on one strip come direetl y opposite th ose on the other strip, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day. of May, A. D. 1887.

GEORGE VALIANT.

Witnesses:

ELMER P. HOWE, LOUIS BECKHARDT. 

